What I'm Looking For
by WildDaisies10
Summary: She was going on a date? Lisbon? First of all, why would she be hesitant to tell him, and second of all… It shouldn’t be bothering him this much." Once again, rated T just to be safe during the later chapters. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Yeah, I decided to write another story. This one came to me when I was just about to fall asleep and I slowly elaborated all day long. All my best ideas come to me in between the time I get in bed and the time I fall asleep, so I figured I might as well start writing. I have the first two chapters done so :D. BUT, don't expect a quick update like the last one (two in the same day haha). I'm not sure how many parts this will be... Just depends. I have certain moments I definitely want to put in, but I want to elaborate and draw it out to make it better. So I would expect 5 or more chapters out of this one. I'll try to update twice a week. Promise!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own The Mentalist or the amazing characters involved in the T.V show. If I did (I have decided) I would be on set staring at Simon Baker all day long instead of being bored out of my mind over spring break. :D

* * *

Jane got up and stretched. He had spent most of his day "sleeping" on his couch because they had just closed a case. Lisbon had spent most of her day in her office quietly doing some paperwork. He looked absentmindedly out of the window and realized that the sun was beginning to set. The day was almost over and he hadn't even bothered Lisbon once today, an activity he found great joy in. She would never admit to it, but he knew she secretly enjoyed it too. After pulling on his jacket again, he walked casually over to Lisbon's office and knocked quietly before coming in.

"Oh hi Jane, did you need something? I was just about to head out." Lisbon asked while she was packing up her things.

Jane noticed that she looked particularly nice today. She was wearing a skirt for once, something she hardly ever did, and a nice green blouse that complimented her eyes very well. "You look nice Lisbon." He complimented her. "Going somewhere special?"

She was quiet for a minute before answering. "No not really. I was just planning on going home." She had gathered her things by then and was beginning to walk out the door. She had been avoiding Jane's eyes ever since he entered the room. What was she trying to hide?

Jane obviously knew she wasn't telling him everything. He grabbed her wrist and held her back just before she exited the room. "Yes you are Lisbon, you can't lie to me. The fact that you did just makes me even more curious."

She turned to face him this time and Jane realized that a small blush was coloring her cheeks. "I told you Jane, I'm not going anywhere."

Her pulse was racing beneath his fingertips. She was lying, no doubt about it. "Liar, are you going on a date Lisbon?" Suddenly the blush on her cheeks made sense because it suddenly turned a deeper red.

She jerked her arm back. "I told you Jane, I'm not going anywhere! And since when is my personal life any of your business?"

She was going on a date? Lisbon? First of all, why would she be hesitant to tell him, and second of all… It shouldn't be bothering him this much. Lisbon didn't get out much and it was good for her, but Jane couldn't help but notice the unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I uh, guess it's not." Jane was taken back. For once, he was at a loss for words. "I hope you have a good time I guess. You spend too much time alone at your house, so it's good for you to get out."

Lisbon backed up a few steps. "Thanks Jane…I uh, I guess." At that, she turned on her heel and left for the elevator, leaving Jane standing alone in her office. She had never seen Jane so surprised and vulnerable before. The mask he usually wore around her was gone. She could see every emotion play out on his face. Surprise was the dominant emotion, but she also thought she saw some sadness and hurt cross his features for a few seconds. Hurt? Why should Jane feel hurt? So what if she was going out on a date? Jane shouldn't care, it was her personal life. Then why did he care?

* * *

Lisbon pulled swiftly into the restaurant parking lot. Her stomach was aching for some strange reason. She wasn't nervous… she had met with this man before and she really liked him. No reason to be nervous. Her thoughts flickered to Jane standing wide eyed in the doorway of her office as she left and the aching in her stomach flared. Had she hurt him? No, how could she. He didn't even like her! And she didn't like him either. She quickly shook those thoughts from her head as she saw Michael, her date, waiting outside the restaurant for her. She quickly put a smile on and ran up to hug him and kiss him on the cheek before they went in to the restaurant.

Dinner had been wonderful. Excellent service and excellent food made for an excellent evening. Michael was a fairly serious man so most of their conversations were about their jobs, but Lisbon didn't mind. Her work was her life, but then only she was to blame for images in her head of a certain annoying consultant standing in the doorway of her office and the aching in her stomach those images caused.

* * *

It was about 9:00 when she got home. Michael walked her to her apartment door and said goodbye. He was taller than her, like most men and looked down into her eyes as he said goodbye to her. He ran his fingers down her cheek bone and pulled her face up to his. Their lips touched gently and Lisbon's eyes closed; their first kiss. He pulled back and smiled down at her, she smiled back up at him. He was a fairly handsome man and no doubt had plenty of girlfriends before her, so he was a pretty good kisser. Butterflies fluttered around in Lisbon's stomach as he gently stroked her face before turning and leaving. That had been the perfect first kiss for her, so sweet and gentle. Then why did it feel so wrong?

* * *

**Another A/N???? NOOO!: **Sorry, I hate two A/N's too. Oh well, I just want to remind everyone to review the story! They make me happy and giddy and they keep me writing. So do it! DOO IT NAOO! :D

PS: Sorry it's short... the later ones will be longer, PROMISE!

~Daisy


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Haha, Here we go guys! New Chapter! Sorry for the really late update... I planned to update Wednesday, but I had so much homework it wasn't even funny. Seriosly, AP classes arn't fun. Especially when it comes to AP exams. I had to take a practice AP US History exam in class on Thursday and today... and I'm not done. I have to write a Document Based Question essay on Monday. Thursday was the 70 question multiple choice part. Today I had to write two essays in an hour on WWII and The Boston Tea Party. WEEEEE And if you don't know what AP classes are, those are courses you take in highschool for college credit. The AP exam is what you take to see if you actually get college credit. Woo Hoo... I'm brain dead. (SORRY, Rant over!)

Please enjoy the story, please review (they make me giddy). Seriosly, I'm a review addict. The sweet reviews make me so happy and brighten my day.

**Disclaimer: **And as always, I do not own The Mentalist or the show's amazing characters. Bruno Heller does, and he's amazing. If I owned the show I would once again be sitting on the set, screaming at Simon Baker and Robin Tunney demanding a kiss on screen. XD, I'm such a hopeless romantic.

Anyway... ON TO THE STORY! Please review! ;)

* * *

Lisbon came in to work happy for once that Tuesday. She had had a nice evening with Michael, and just dismissed all of the other strange feelings she was feeling. As she walked in she noticed that Jane had actually shown up to work early. That was different.

"Hi Lisbon!" He called out. "How did your… _date_ go?" He made it sound like a dirty word.

"Not that it's any of your business Jane, but it went very well thanks."

"I'm glad." He said quietly. "Can I meet him?"

What? Meet my… date? What the hell? "Uh, no Jane. You would probably scare him off."

"Oh come on Lisbon! I did the same with Van Pelt's boyfriend. He turned out to be a real creeper and I helped scare him off." Jane argued.

"Scared him off?" She asked incredulously. "If I hadn't shot him you would be dead right now! And plus… you're the one that drew him in in the first place. And another thing, you have no business in my personal life Jane. You are a co-worker, nothing more…" As soon as she said that she felt awful. What she said was a lie. Jane was so, so much more to her, but he couldn't know that. She had to maintain a professional relationship with Jane.

Ouch. Jane looked down at his feet. "Yeah, you're right. I'm just your annoying consultant. I forgot." Her words rang in his brain. He wasn't even a friend?

"Jane, I never said that." Lisbon tried to say in a comforting tone.

"You didn't have to. Listen Lisbon, I get it. Keep away." And with that, he picked up his feet and slung them onto the couch and closed his eyes as if to say, conversation over. Lisbon stalked off to her office.

Jane just lay there, trying to get his thoughts in order. Why should he care who Lisbon was dating? Sure, he might enjoy making her blush, making her laugh, but that didn't mean anything, surely not. He shouldn't care that Lisbon was dating, but he couldn't banish the feeling of pure… _jealousy _he was feeling. Just knowing that someone else was making Lisbon happy and that someone else was making her laugh made him extremely… angry. He felt a wave of protectiveness come over him.

His emotions brought on a strange sense of Déjà vu. He hadn't felt these same emotions since… since…

***

"_Daddy! Are we there yet?" His daughter had called._

_"Not yet sweetheart." He had replied. The Jane family was pulling up to a beachside restaurant after spending all day at the beach with their little girl. He had just dropped off his wife at the restaurant so she could get a table while he went to park the car. His daughter stayed with him._

_He got out of the car and held his daughter's hand all the way to the restaurant and took her inside. He didn't wait on the service; he just walked around to find his wife's table._

_He found her sitting alone at a booth by the window with a fairly young waiter talking to her. He had just gotten close enough to hear his wife speak politely to the waiter, "I'm sorry, I'm married."_

_"That's ok darling, it doesn't matter." The waiter had replied. Anger had risen in Patrick's chest. How much he wanted to go and punch the punk out, but he would never do that in front of his daughter._

_Instead he leaned down and whispered into his daughter's ear. "Hold on sweet heart, Daddy needs to take care of something. Would you wait here please?"_

_His daughter had looked up at him sweetly and said, "Sure daddy."_

_He patted her on the head gently and walked casually up to the waiter. By then his wife had stood up to leave but instead stared at her husband with wide eyes. The stupid imbecile of a waiter must not have realized that there were three menus on the table. Patrick stepped forward and put an arm around his wife's waist protectively. He then stared into the waiters eyes for a split second and then kissed his wife passionately right in front of him, as if he was just blurting out, _mine.

_He pulled back after a while and smiled at the waiter politely. "Come on dear; let's go find another table with a different waiter who can actually keep it in his pants."_

_And with that, he walked off to grab his daughter's hand and find another more suitable table, a table where that waiter couldn't bother _his_ family anymore._

_***_

"Jane…" Something stirred him from his musings… "Jane? You awake?"

Jane had realized that his eyebrows were pulled together in a grimace. He must have looked like he was having a horribly bad dream. A light, feminine hand touched his shoulder gently. He let his eyebrows relax and he opened his eyes to find Lisbon leaning over him.

"Sorry if I woke you up Jane, but I just needed to talk to you for a minute. Plus you looked like you were having a bad dream." She spoke softly to him, trying to comfort him while she was obviously feeling upset about something.

He sat up and smiled slightly before patting the seat next to him. "What do you need to talk about Lisbon?"

She sat down and stared at her feet for a minute before speaking. "I wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have said that. It was a lie anyway. Jane, you… you are more than a consultant to me okay? You're an asset to the team and I don't know what we would do without you."

Jane just raised an eyebrow at her for a moment. She stared back at him.

"Damn it Jane, you're a pain in the ass sometimes and that's why I might act like a jerk to you a lot of the time. Truth is, you're a friend okay? You're my friend, and everyone else's for that matter. Nobody on this team could live without you."

"Thank you Lisbon." He said, standing up. She stood up too. A large smile grew on his face and he opened up his arms as wide as they would go.

This time it was Lisbon's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Come on…" He said.

Lisbon just took a few steps forward and tried to give him an awkward, one armed hug, but it didn't work out too well. Jane wrapped both of his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in tight. She could feel his breath on her hair.

She pulled back almost immediately. "Jane…" She said in a warning tone.

"What? It's a hug between colleagues. Big deal!"

She just gave him a pathetic smile.

He smiled a small smile. "You smell like cinnamon again."

Lisbon laughed nervously and quickly tried to change the subject. "Listen Jane, We can all go out to lunch on Friday, your choice. I'll treat all five of us to whatever you want, alright?"

"Sure, sure," He replied coolly. "As long as you let me meet your boyfriend first."

Lisbon grimaced. "God Jane, you sound so much like my father." She turned around to exit the building to go to the small cafeteria. Jane followed her out.

"What, did your father pull a gun on your first boyfriend?" He asked sarcastically.

"Yes actually, he did. Luckily I got that guy out the door just as my dad was screaming something about shooting him if he got me pregnant. Jane, I'm a big girl now, I can handle my boyfriends."

"I know you can." He said before adding, "I just have to protect _my _Lisbon."

She only heard him mumble that last sentence and couldn't make out anything he said. "What was that?" She asked.

"Hm?" he said turning his head to look at her as they walked. "Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself."

Read and Review! Update will be soon, I promise!!!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Aww guys! I'm so sorry that I took so long to update! For one thing, I was having trouble writing this next chapter. I have so many ideas and suggestions floating around in my brain, and I was wondering where I should take this story, because there are more than 2 ways I could go. I decided to go with my original plan, even though all of the suggestions I got from you guys were brilliant. I also had other little ideas running around in my head too, and it was hard to decide. But I love my original idea, so I stuck with it.

Thanks you guys for reading, I really appreciate it. Especially reviews, I love reviews. They make me squee and giggle :).

But seriosly, I will be updating quicker now... I was just bogged down with homework this week again (again? I should say as always!) I went to a Nickelback concert on Thursday, so I had to get my homework for Thursday and Friday done on Wednesday (and I had a ton... Math test... memorize the presidents all that good stuff.) So I pretty much had a full schedule... And the concert was terrible. It started raining... pouring down rain and our seats were out of the overhang. I didn't even get to see Nickelback, I got to see Saving Abel and Seether though! People were drunk or high (or maybe both) and stumbling around and it got pretty scary and out of hand so we left.

Anyway, enjoy... (Once again sorry about my long rant.) Love you guys, thanks for reading!

* * *

It was Thursday and it was almost time to go home, finally. Lisbon had been looking at the clock all day and was planning on getting out of the office right at 5:00 to meet Michael at his car so they could go out to dinner. Little did she know those plans would be ruined by an increasingly annoying consultant.

Jane walked into Lisbon's office right at 5:00 as Lisbon was just about to leave.

"Lisbon, where are you going?" He suddenly appeared in her doorway.

Lisbon ran into his chest, backed up a few steps, and then looked up at him. "Hm? Nowhere." She quickly looked back down at her feet, trying to avoid his penetrating eyes. Jane could not figure out that Michael was picking her up at the office.

She tried, unsuccessfully, to get around him as he stood in the doorway. "Move Jane…" She warned him.

"No…" He said simply. "You're obviously not planning to go to your car… If you were you would have your keys out by now, just like always. Are you meeting someone?"

"No Jane… I'm going home." She countered.

"Hm." He mumbled to himself. "I don't know why you insist on lying to me all the time. Sometimes I wish you would just tell the truth."

"I am telling the truth! Now move!" She glared up angrily at him.

"Oo, in a hurry are we?" He was taunting her now. "Ok, I'll let you go."

"Thank you!" She said quickly and looked up at him again, but he wasn't there. He was already over at his desk searching for his keys. Her eyes widened and she started running off down the stairs to try and get in Michael's car before Jane caught up with her, but soon enough she heard heavy footsteps struggling to keep up behind her.

Finally, she got to the parking deck. Michael must have been getting impatient because he was now walking up to the stairs to meet her.

"Teresa! There you are baby." He strode up to her and kissed her quickly before turning to look Jane in the eye. He wrapped his arm around Lisbon's waist and pulled her close.

Jane finished the final step, put on a fake smile, and walked up to Lisbon and her… _boyfriend. _

Lisbon raised her eyebrows at Jane, trying to warn him to keep quiet.

"Hello, I'm Patrick Jane, I work with Teresa." He offered out a hand and walked up to Michael, trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach after watching them kiss.

Michael shook his hand and introduced himself politely. "Michael Hartmann, nice to meet you Mr. Jane. I've heard much about you from Teresa here, sounds like you are quite the crime solver."

"Meh," Jane replied modestly. "I've seen better. Now listen…" he began.

"Jane…" Lisbon growled.

"What?" he gave Lisbon a surprised glance before turning back to Michael. "As I was saying… Listen, Teresa here is a very special person on the team, our boss, and we all expect you to treat her well. Remember, she's a cop and works with other cops. Not only does she have a gun, but so do we." He winked at Michael before turning around to find his car. "Have a nice time!" He called from over his shoulder.

Lisbon pursed her lips and looked up at Michael to her right. "Sorry about that, I work with three men and they're all pretty… protective of their boss." They both turned to walk towards Michael's car.

Michael laughed quietly. "Should I be worried about these three men?" He asked as he slipped his arm around Lisbon's waist.

"Nah," She replied. "Jane is… married, if you didn't notice his wedding band. Rigsby has a thing for the other female I work with, and Cho is a loner and a long time friend, and nothing more. Nothing to worry about."

"Good." Michael smiled slightly and let go of Lisbon to go take the driver's seat while she went around to the passenger side. They then took off to go to a nice Italian restaurant.

Something made Lisbon feel uneasy in the car. Jane had been known to be quite sneaky and break rules all the time. What if he…

Lisbon looked over her shoulder briefly at the cars traveling behind their own, but she didn't see any Citroen DS anywhere in sight. Sighing lightly, she turned her attention back to the front of the car.

"Something wrong Teresa?" Michael asked, scanning her face quickly before turning his gaze back to the road.

"Hm?" She mumbled. She glanced quickly over in his direction. "Oh nothing, I'm fine."

As she looked off into space she thought about Jane following her to the restaurant to spy. A small smile came out as she thought about that fact. She giggled slightly, contemplating the idea of Jane making a complete fool of himself as he tried to hide.

That was silly; he wouldn't follow her, ever. Unless he was jealous of course… Was he? As they pulled into the quiet little Italian restaurant, Lisbon couldn't help but wish that she would indeed see a light blue Citroen parked close by.

* * *

They arrived at the restaurant around six, just in time for their reservation. Michael walked in first and began talking to the waiter about a reservation for two.

The waiter nodded and took Michael and Lisbon to their seats. Michael sat down first and pulled out a menu, as did Lisbon while they waited for their waitress to come.

"Hello, my name is Melanie and I will be your server for tonight." She turned over to Michael, tilted her head, and smiled before asking, "Can I get you anything to drink?"

Michael looked up at her with a twinkle in his eye. "Yes, I would like the house red wine please." He winked subtly at her before the waitress turned reluctantly to Lisbon.

Lisbon focused on Michael and raised an eyebrow at him before looking up at the beautiful blond haired waitress. "I'll have the same, thanks."

The waitress nodded and left with Michael staring at her retreating figure.

Lisbon rolled her eyes, tilted her head slightly to the left and raised an eyebrow at Michael again. What was he doing?

"What?" He questioned. He looked from where the waitress had been and back to Lisbon before realizing. "Oh come on Baby, you know I only have eyes for you…" He rubbed his foot gently up and down her leg under the table.

His touch made goose-bumps pop up on her legs and a smile spread across her face. She rolled her eyes and kicked him playfully.

Then the waitress walked up with their wine and set them on the table before once again turning to Michael first. "Are you ready to order?" Lisbon sighed and took a sip of the wine.

"I am, are you Hun?"

Lisbon nodded.

"Alright, I'll have the meat lasagna please."

"Sure thing," The waitress replied while turning to Lisbon reluctantly again.

"I'll have… the angel hair pasta with regular tomato sauce, no meatballs."

The waitress nodded and without another word walked off in the direction of the kitchen.

"So how was your day?" Michael asked, trying to break the awkward silence that had developed.

"Ah, it was pretty good." She replied.

"No case?" He asked casually.

"Actually, we did have a case." Lisbon smiled, remembering the satisfying feeling of closing a case.

"Mmm… what was it about?" Michael asked curiously.

"Well, I shouldn't really tell you… any specifics at least, but I'll tell you the brief overview." Lisbon leaned forward in her seat; this case had been particularly interesting.

"Do tell." Michael leaned forward in his seat also, intrigued by the life of a detective.

"Ok well, we got a call one morning from a small town police department in a neighboring area. They couldn't handle one of their cases and actually wanted us to take over for them. It was bigger then they had ever planned. Apparently a man at a local bar had come in pretty late at night to drink. He had sat at the bar and had a few drinks, getting pretty hammered. The bartender had turned around for a while to tend the other side of the bar. Well when he turned around he noticed the man had slumped over on the table, looking like had either passed out or fallen asleep. The bartender didn't expect anything out of the ordinary, just another man over-drinking as usual, but when he tried to shake him awake, the man just fell off of the bar stool. The bartender immediately called 911 after realizing he didn't have a pulse.

"So we came on to the crime scene early that morning to see the body. Forensics thought it was a poisoning, simply because of where it happened, but Jane figured out that it was actually a strangling. He notices things no one else would have noticed. After just taking one quick glance at the body he was able to describe exactly how the murder took place." Lisbon shook her head, remembering the way Jane had walked around the room describing the murder, using his hands as always to show emotion.

"Mmm…" Michael murmured. "You seem to think very highly of this… Jane person. So what's the deal?"

"There's no deal… as I said before he's married."

"I think I should be the one worried here Teresa, not you. I act politely to a waitress and it bothers you, but you hang around with this smart and charming Jane guy all day at work." He tilted his face down and stared up at Lisbon through his eyelashes.

"Aww, now you're jealous too? You have nothing to worry about." Little did he know she was lying through her teeth. He had a lot to be worried about.

* * *

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. Lisbon told the rest of her story while they waited for their dinner. She left Jane out of the entire conversation, even though she could have included him a thousand times and bragged on him multiple times throughout the evening. Lisbon had paid for her dinner, as usual, and Michael paid for his. He never paid for the whole dinner, not even once. They got separate checks, and Lisbon could have sworn she saw a phone number written down on Michael's receipt… or maybe she had just dreamt it.

Michael then drove Lisbon back to the CBI parking lot to let her pick up her car.

Lisbon watched Michael drive off and smiled slightly, he was such a nice guy and she had enjoyed her evening again, just not as much as she could have. If she was instead with a certain blond haired, blue eyed, pain-in-the-ass consultant, it would have been much more enjoyable. Conversation was so easy between Jane and Lisbon, and with Michael, it felt forced.

Lisbon got in her car and drove home. She came to a few realizations in the car. She wanted the relationship with Michael to work, and yet she didn't. She felt like the only reason she was dating him is because he simply… well he filled in the space in her heart for a significant other. She liked the attention he gave her; it was like a high for her. But yet, at the same time it felt wrong. She felt like he wasn't what she was looking for in a man… he just filled the void somewhat, not completely. In fact, she didn't really know who she was looking for in.

Lisbon had always liked quiet dates more then the fantastic ones. She would much rather spend the evening watching old movies and eating popcorn at her apartment with her date instead of going to extravagant restaurants. She wanted a casual boyfriend, one that she could talk to freely. She wanted the best friend.

So, she decided to try a new type of date with Michael. She would invite him over to her apartment one evening to watch movies and just have fun. Hopefully things would work out… if they didn't… she was worried that she might have to end the relationship. There was still this nagging in her head that told her that something was wrong… That something needed to change. She liked Michael a lot, but they weren't right for each other.

When she got home, she called Michael and insisted on him coming over to her place on Saturday. He accepted happily. Now Lisbon could only sit back and wait to see how things turned out. If the date didn't go well... well she was afraid of what she might have to do.

**Thanks for reading guys! Reviews are much appreciated.**

**PS: I know I can't spell, so please ignore any grammatical or spelling errors. I did not do them purposefully!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hey guys! Quick update? I know right? Yeah, I figured I would surprise you guys since I promised to update twice a week, but instead I've been updating once a week. So, I finished up this chapter just a few minutes ago. I swear, it took me like, two hours to finish the final two or three paragraphs. Once again there were so many things I could do at the end, so I just had to decide on one. I hope you all enjoy it! I worked really hard on it.

Oh, and terribly sorry about all the spelling errors and typos in the last section. I usually tripple read my story, but I guess I missed a few things. I know there were a few things in there that probably confused a bunch of you. Terribly sorry, I hate typos!

This is the **second to last chapter**!!!! I'm going to be all sad once I'm done writing this! Anywho, enjoy! **R&R**!!!!!

**Disclaimer: **As always, I do not own the Mentalist or it's amazing characters. And of course, If I did I wouldn't be writing this, I would be (once again) on set staring at Simon Baker.

* * *

Lisbon walked out of her small private office with a smile plastered on her face.

"Come on guys," She called. "We're all going out to lunch, my treat."

Jane stayed in a fixed position on his couch, his eyes closed.

Cho looked up from his computer and held up a sandwich as he chewed a fairly large bite. Waving his hand slightly, he motioned for the others to go on without him and then turned back to his computer to continue working.

Van Pelt got up from her chair and disappeared into the kitchen area. She quickly stepped back out and produced two covered containers that appeared to contain salad.

"Sorry Lisbon, Rigsby and I already have lunch. A nice healthy salad with low fat dressing, right Rigsby?"

Rigsby mumbled something inaudible under his breath and Van Pelt slapped him lightly on the arm.

Van Pelt let the Tupperware fall flat on the table in front of him. "Eat." She commanded.

Lisbon casually walked over to Jane's couch and kicked it lightly. As she stood there looking over him she noticed how unbelievably tired he looked. He always seemed to have bags under his eyes because of his insomnia, but the bags that were there now were a dark mix of purple and blue and were fairly noticeable. Lying there, he looked strange. He looked like he was on the edge of a mental breakdown because of pure sleep deprivation.

Jane shot up into a sitting position, his hair mussed up and his eyelids barely open. "Hmm?" He mumbled. "I'm awake, I'm awake!"

He blinked a few times and then smiled up at Lisbon.

"Jane, you need to get more sleep." Lisbon said quietly, worrying over him.

"Well, I have hardly gotten any sleep this last week; less then usual actually."

"Why?" Lisbon asked.

"Well, I've been… stressed out I guess you could call it." Jane explained.

"What's stressing you out? If you need a few days off I could let you have a four day weekend Jane. You look awful."

"Trust me Lisbon…" He went on. "The last thing I need to do is be away from work. Work is actually helping me." He slung his legs off of the couch and looked up at her for a quick moment before standing up.

He seemed stable enough, so Lisbon decided to continue with their plans to go out to lunch. She still owed him a lunch of his choice, her treat, as promised.

"I hope you don't mind just you and me going. It seems like everybody else made their own plans." Lisbon laughed as she looked over at Rigsby who was picking at his salad.

"I don't mind, let's go." He answered quickly while turning towards the door. Finally, Jane had a chance to be alone with Lisbon. That was probably what he wanted the most right now.

* * *

Eventually they got outside and started walking along the walkways looking into the various windows of restaurants for something to eat. Jane had been staring into all of the windows trying to decide what he wanted.

He had picked up the pace just a tad, so Lisbon was trailing behind him now. That is, until Jane stopped short in front of a quaint looking restaurant. Lisbon ran into his back.

"Ah, sorry Lisbon." He apologized, still staring into the window of the nearest restaurant. "This place looks good, it O.K with you?"

"Sure Jane, anything is good for me. It's your choice remember?" Lisbon replied before stepping to the door of the restaurant.

Jane, being a perfect gentleman, held the door open for Lisbon who smiled at him on her way in. Not only that, but he pulled out her chair for her after they had been shown their table. Michael had never once done anything so polite.

After they were both sitting down and had ordered their dinner, Lisbon stared at Jane intently before speaking. "So…"

Jane shifted his gaze off of the fork he had been playing with in front of him and up to Lisbon. "What?"

"What did you think of Michael? I've been waiting for you to give me the report. Well, not necessarily waiting for it, more like dreading it."

"Well," Jane started. "You're not right for each other, I can tell you that."

"You figured that out from shaking his hand and basically telling him that not only I could shoot him, but that my co-workers could too?"

"Well, yes. It was obvious as soon as I saw him. He's not your type. Lisbon, he is a nice guy, don't get me wrong, but there are some things you wouldn't like about him. He is easily distracted for one thing. Also, he wants something that I'm pretty sure you don't."

"Okay then Jane, I'm obviously attracted to Michael in some way, shape, or form because I started dating him. So he must be somewhat my type." Lisbon shot back.

"Lisbon, I'm going to be completely honest right now, so don't get angry with me. No, he isn't your type at all, at least not to date. You barely even know him. I have a feeling that the only reason you started dating him is because you simply enjoyed being with him sometimes. The thought of having a boyfriend made you happy and it filled the void in your heart that is meant for a significant other. You two aren't right together."

Jane took a sip of his soft drink.

"Fine then Jane, what is my type, since you think you know."

"Your type is… Well, simply the best friend. The man you can talk easily to, the man you can go to whenever you need help or guidance. Your type is usually taller than you, but that's not saying much since most men are taller than you."

Lisbon shot him a glare and Jane laughed to himself.

"You enjoy spending dates at home and not at fancy restaurants or the movies, and you hope he does too. You like the type of guy who can look at you and make you feel like you are the only woman in the room."

Lisbon felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. He was exactly right, about everything.

The waitress suddenly appeared with their food. She began placing it on the table, hovering over Jane. Lisbon realized that she was quite pretty, and the revealing top she was wearing wasn't helping. Jane didn't even give her a sideways glance; he just kept his gaze fixated on Lisbon. It was like she was the only woman in the room. Her blush became a deeper red.

"I must have been right about something…" Jane began after the waitress had walked off. "You haven't denied any of it and you are, in fact, blushing."

"Well fine, you're right Jane." Lisbon mumbled, taking a bite of her chicken Caesar salad as she tried to use her hair to cover her face.

"I knew it…" He mused to himself before grinning at Lisbon. "So I'm serious, he's not your type. I'm not trying to tell you to end the relationship, because I know he makes you happy. I like it when you're happy. I'm just trying to tell you that he might do a lot of things that you don't like and things may feel wrong. Those feelings are just trying to keep you out of trouble and keep you happy."

"Well, things have felt a little wrong between us lately. I've honestly been thinking about ending it."

Jane's face lit up, but he did a good job at hiding it.

"I really like him, but you're right. I'm going to give him another chance tomorrow night. I invited him over to my apartment to watch movies, which, as you said, is my type of date."

"Great…" Jane muttered, under his breath.

After they had finished eating, Jane pulled out his wallet.

"Oh no, no, no Jane, I promised. I'm paying." Lisbon stated as she ruffled through her purse to find her wallet.

"Lisbon please, let me pay for everything. After all that money you've wasted on Michael and paying for his meals, I figured you would like some money left over to pay for gas." And with that, he slapped the money on the table and got up to leave.

Well, he was right. Michael had never paid for the complete meal, even though Lisbon had multiple times. She looked solemnly into her wallet that had barely any cash in it. Stuffing her wallet back in her purse, she also stood up to join Jane.

Jane just smiled his usual smile at her and began to head back to the headquarters.

* * *

On the way home that evening, Lisbon once again had her mind on the predicament in her love life. Michael was a nice guy that she enjoyed being with, but something was wrong between them. Lisbon could feel it, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

Jane was completely right at lunch. She was looking for the best friend who would always be there for her. Michael didn't fit that mold. Still, Lisbon wanted to try to give him a second chance, one last ditch effort to save their relationship. She was attracted to Michael, in some ways, she had to admit. That was the reason she started dating him in the first place. Now though, things were different. Now that they were dating he had changed in just the slightest, but Lisbon had noticed it.

She wondered quietly to herself why she kept comparing Michael with Jane. Jane was a co-worker and she should not be comparing him to her boyfriend. Yet at the same time, she was constantly comparing them to one another. Jane was so much more of a gentleman then Michael. Jane actually cared for her while Michael seemed somewhat selfish. Jane didn't even look at other women when she was around, and Michael couldn't keep his eyes off of their waitress.

Well, she had to admit it now. She was indeed slightly attracted to Jane. That's why she kept comparing the two men. Jane was so perfect and Michael was so not…

Lisbon pulled into the parking lot of her apartment and buried her face in her hands. She didn't think she could keep dating Michael when she knew she was attracted to another man. It just wasn't possible, even if the man was an annoying, pain-in-the-ass, blond haired, blue eyed consultant.

This gave her a valid reason to end it with him, if she felt the need to the next day. She was still going to give him one last chance, he deserved it, or so she thought.

**Hope you enjoyed it! R&R!!!!!!**

**Thankies ~Daisy**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Last chapter!!!!! I had so much fun writing this and I will definitely be writing a few more Jane/Lisbon stories. As said in previous stories, I'm awful at writing about cases and mysteries, I'm good at the character interaction. I don't really have a story in progress right now, I don't even have an idea! I need to think!

If you guys have any requests I would always be willing to try them out for you! If you have a request just leave it in the review or even PM me if you need to.

Thanks for reading the final chapter guys! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!

**And I'm really sorry, if you hate Michael right now, it's O.K. I do too. You'll see what happens to him... -laughs maniacally-**

**Disclaimer: **As said before, I do not own the Mentalist or the characters. If I did, I would go on set (while filming)... Grab Robin (Lisbon), and push her over to Simon (Jane)... Then point at Lisbon and scream, "She has a crush on you!" And then run off. I would so totally do that.

* * *

Lisbon heard a knocking at her door and got up from her couch. Popcorn was popped, wine set out, movies in a pile on the coffee table. Lisbon was dressed in a casual green t-shirt with a pair of faded jeans that were frayed at the bottom. While straightening her shirt, she opened the door to Michael who was smiling at her.

"Hey baby!" He exclaimed, happy to see her.

"Hi…" She replied back, not as enthusiastic.

He came in and looked around her clean apartment and smiled. "Nice place you've got here Teresa, very nice."

"Thanks Michael… So uh, what movie would you like to watch?" She asked as she pointed to the stack of DVDs sitting on the table.

"Doesn't matter to me," He said while shrugging and sitting down on the couch. "But I guess…" He swiftly pointed to one of the DVDs. "That one?"

"Fine with me," she said quickly as she stuffed it into the player.

Then she went over and joined Michael on the couch. He swiftly put his arm around her and she snuggled in, despite her best judgment. She just couldn't help herself. He was a nice, comforting man at times.

He had been staring at her for a while so she finally looked up at him and into his eyes. Caressing her shoulder, he moved forward to press his lips to hers. It started out as a gentle, sweet kiss, but then quickly turned into a more passionate one.

Lisbon was putty in his hands. He was a particularly good kisser and made Lisbon melt beneath his lips.

They sat there kissing for a bit until Lisbon pulled back in the slightest. It felt too wrong. She knew what she had to do.

"Michael…" she whispered, her lips barely touching his. She had to end it before it got too bad. He took it the wrong way.

He began to slowly move his hand up the back of her shirt.

Lisbon froze… Her lips stopped moving against his, even though his mouth was still locked on hers. She moved her hand behind her back and caught his arm just before he reached his goal. She pulled his arm slowly back down and out of shirt.

"Please…" She whispered again. And once again he took it completely wrong.

Suddenly his hands were working on getting her shirt off. He was pulling it up slowly while still kissing her.

No! This was not supposed to be happening. She was trying to stop him, not egg him on!

The shirt kept progressing upwards as he pulled at it sensuously. He used one hand to tug on it to try and get it over her chest while the other moved up her back once more.

This couldn't be happening…

No…

_NO!_

"Stop." She said, authority and power coating her tone of voice. She grabbed his wrist forcefully and held it in place.

He pulled back, confused.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered, barely audible. "I can't."

He tiled his head slightly to the side, trying to understand what she meant. Then a knowing smile spread across his face.

"It's O.K baby, it doesn't hurt that bad." And with those words he captured her lips again.

She was stunned and motionless beneath him, so he tried a little harder to get a response as he successfully pulled her shirt off.

Adrenaline was rushing through Lisbon's veins as she realized once more what was going on. With one swift shove she pushed him off of her and onto the floor next to the couch. "I said no…." She said once more, seriousness evident on her face.  
"Ooo," He exclaimed, acting like he hadn't heard her say no. "Violent aren't we?" He stood up once more and threw himself on her, pinning her back to the couch as he worked on his own shirt.

"Get the hell off me!" She shouted as she kicked at him. She must have kicked him on the shin or some sort of pressure point because now he cussing, lying on the floor.

"What the hell was that for?" He shouted at her.

"I told you no! I'm sorry Michael, but I can't do this anymore." Lisbon crossed her arms and got off of the couch to go find her shirt.

While she was quickly sliding her shirt back on, Michael had gotten up and was now standing behind her.

"You little bitch." He said, tone low and menacing. He grabbed her upper arm and threw her to the ground. "You led me on. You invite me over to 'watch movies' and now you're what… breaking up with me?"

She rubbed at her upper arm that was now throbbing with pain from his grip. "Yeah, now get the hell out."

"Oh I don't think so, my dear Teresa. See, I was planning on spending the night here with you, and I intend on keeping those plans."

Lisbon scooted back and tried to scurry up from her sitting position. He kicked her forcefully on the shin.

She winced in pain and tried to run off to the bedroom. Michael followed her in.

"Teresa…" he called. "Teresa there's no use hiding from me." He walked into her bedroom and froze.

Lisbon had a gun raised. "I said get the hell out, Michael." She took a few steps toward him as he took a few steps back toward her front door.

"It's O.K. Don't shoot. I don't have to be with you tonight Teresa, I can always call that cute blonde haired waitress."

Lisbon's eyebrows pulled down into a glare and her grip tightened on the pistol.

"You bastard…" She whispered quietly and angrily. Suddenly, with more anger evident in her tone she screamed. "Get the hell out of my house before I shoot you!"

He raised his hands and quickly reached for the doorknob of her apartment. He opened the door and let himself out, shutting the door behind him.

Gun in hand, Lisbon ran over to the door and locked the deadbolt and everything else you could lock on a door for that matter. She put the safety back on the gun and let it fall to the floor beside her.

Tears streamed down her face and she buried her head in her hands. She let herself fall back and her back hit the door with a thud before sliding down to rest on the floor. She sat there, sobbing for a few minutes.

On an instinct, she reached out and grabbed her phone from the table next to the door. She dialed the first number she could think of… Jane's.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Jane?" She asked, even though she knew it was him.

"Lisbon? What's wrong?"

She began sobbing. "Michael…" she whispered.

"What? What the hell did that son of a… Is he still there, because if he is I'll kill him?"

"He's gone…" her voice was almost inaudible now.

"Are you O.K?"

"Physically, yes somewhat… emotionally, no." She laughed a nervous laugh. "Jane I…" She couldn't continue.

"I know…" He whispered back. She could hear his car starting already. "You need me right now; I'll be over in a minute."

And with that, he hung up on her.

Lisbon curled into a ball next to the door and waited for Jane to come.

* * *

As the last tear dried on her face she heard a soft knocking on her apartment door.

"Lisbon? Lisbon you there?"

She reached up and un-locked the door without getting up. Jane let himself in.

"Lisbon…" He cooed as he shut the door and locked it. He crouched down to her level where she was still seated on the floor.

"What happened?" He asked.

Lisbon let her head fall down so that her hair was covering up her face. Jane put his hand under her chin to lift her head back up and to brush out of her eyes the hair that was now sticking to her wet face.

"Well, we were sitting on the couch and started kissing, but it felt wrong. I mumbled his name to try and get him to stop, and I was planning on flat out telling him that it wasn't working. Instead of stopping he just started reaching up my shirt."

Jane made a somewhat of a growling noise deep in his chest, a grumble.

"I told him to stop, but he didn't. I kicked him off of me, but he just threw himself back on me. Finally, I got him off and put my shirt back on. He called a bitch and then threw me to the ground because I wouldn't have sex with him. He kicked me and then I ran to the bedroom, got my gun, and forced him out."

Jane sighed. "Why didn't you shoot him? He deserved it."

"Jane…" Lisbon sighed back.

"Sorry, sorry." He mumbled, standing up. He offered out a hand to Lisbon and she took it to help her up.

What happened next was unexpected. Jane never let go of her hand and just pulled her forward into the sweetest, most comforting hug. She really needed that too. Lisbon just snuggled into Jane's shoulder and let a few loose tears fall.

"Shhh…" Jane comforted her while rubbing her back in small circles. He led her back over to the couch to let her sit.

After she had calmed down, Jane broke the silence. "Are you okay?"

"Not really… I just took a major hit on my self esteem Jane. He seemed so perfect for me, so kind and caring in the beginning. What happened? And why didn't I see it coming?"

"Lisbon, my dear, we all make mistakes. We are supposed to learn from them."

"Yeah but," She interrupted him. "I thought he was so perfect, he was what I wanted. Now Jane, I'm not so sure I know what, or who, I'm looking for." She sighed gently and leaned back into the couch as she let a few tears escape.

"Why are you crying over him? You're acting like you lost someone. Lisbon, you got rid of a complete jerk, you made the right decision."

"But Jane, what I don't understand is why I chose him in the first place."

Jane scooted closer to Lisbon and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in tight. She scooted even closer, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Lisbon, you saw what he was like on the outside, you saw his mask. He puts on a show during the first dates to get women to like him. Then he slowly starts taking off the mask to see if the woman is still attracted to him, and unfortunately, you were. You still remembered the man he used to be so you kept dating him. That's how he fulfills his needs; He draws women in with his mask and then takes advantage of them and the mask comes off. Most people can't see through the mask, you included. That's why. It's not your mistake, it's his."

Lisbon just nodded in agreement and closed her eyes, trying to relax.

"What movie are you watching?" He asked to make conversation.

"The Terminator." She answered as she giggled.

"Wow, nice date movie huh? Especially if he was trying seduce you."

"Yeah, he has no taste." Lisbon shrugged.

Jane sighed. "Lisbon my dear, he dated you, he had to have some taste in women."

"Jane…" She teased as she elbowed him playfully.

"Well Lisbon, I'm sorry he turned out to be a jerk. I do hope you find what you're looking for."

"Thanks Jane…" She said before sighing and turning to the movie.

As she sat there, watching the movie, she had her own little movie playing back in her head, an old memory.

_She and Jane were just coming back from a long drive into a neighboring city and had stopped for lunch along the way. Jane was eating an apple while Lisbon was munching on strawberries._

"_Like you don't know you have major trust issues?" She said, matter-of-factly._

_Jane had stared back her surprised. "I trust people, I trust you."_

_That had surprised her. He was lying._

"_No you don't and I don't trust you either."_

_She took another bite of her strawberry as Jane stared at her incredulously and then threw his apple away into a nearby barrel._

_"That's upsetting to hear that… And really, you don't trust me?" He seemed hurt by her words._

_"Course not, how many times have you lied to me, mislead me, tricked me. Is that trust? No!"_

_"Well we have to remedy this, let's do a trust fall."_

_"A trust fall?"  
"Yeah, I'm sure you did one on your CBI retreat... It's when you turn around and fall backward and I catch you." A trust fall? What the hell?_

_"Oh yes, we did do that… No!"_

_"You won't?"_

_"We have a long drive still." She tried to change the subject._

_"Ah, here we have to co-workers recognizing the boundaries of their professional relationship. See, you want to trust me, but there's something holding you back."_

_"Yes," She replied. "You're untrustworthy. It's my job not to trust you!"_

_"Lisbon…I want you to know that you can trust me. No matter what happens I will be there for you." He stooped down to her eye level to catch her gaze. "I need you to know that…"_

The dream slowly faded into reality as she stared up at Jane's face that was focused on the T.V. The light's flashing from the screen illuminated his face and made his eyes sparkle. Jane had always been there for her whenever she needed him, she knew that. And here he was again today, when she needed him the most. And she was sure, that in future situations, he would be doing the same thing. She had found the best friend. She had found the trustworthy, handsome, tall, caring, sincere man. She had found what she was looking for.

"Lisbon? Staring is impolite you know?" He teased her as she continued to stare. When she didn't say anything he tried again. "Lisbon?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled as Jane shook her gently from her thoughts. "Sorry Jane, I was just uh, figuring something out."

Jane turned his attention back to the movie.

"Jane?" She asked.

He turned his head to face her and let her ask her question.

"Why didn't you try and stop me from dating Michael? Did you like him at first too?"

"No, I hated his guts before I even met him." Jane admitted.

"Why?" She asked, curious.

Jane tensed up, Lisbon could feel it. "Uh… No reason." He mumbled. He was stuck in a corner.

Lisbon shot him a look.

"Fine, I was jealous. Well, maybe not jealous, but I didn't like him hanging around with you and taking you away from m… the team."

"Well, if you hated him so much, why did you let me date him? Especially after you met him and found out he wasn't right for me?" Lisbon questioned.

"Well, I wanted you to figure it out on your own. I knew you would eventually dump him, but I didn't know how far he would try to go. Lisbon, I wanted to give you a chance to figure out what you were looking for on your own."

"Thanks Jane, for at least giving me a chance."

"Sure, sure. I should let you fight your own battles sometimes, makes you stronger."

"Well, I succeeded." She said suddenly.

Jane looked over at her and raised his eyebrows.

Lisbon leaned up, and pressed her lips softly to his. She could feel him smiling as he kissed her back.

Jane pulled back and let a giant smile cover his features. "You found what you were looking for?"

"Exactly." She whispered as she leaned up to kiss him again.

**_The End_**

* * *

**A/N: **Another author's note!?!? I know, I'm sorry. I just wanted to point a few things out in the story without actually spoiling anything...

I cheered (out loud) multiple times while writing this, so it's O.K if you did too. I also laughed at Michael multiple times. So it's O.K if you chant, scream, squee, cuz I did too, while I was writing this.

**Think I was going to make Lisbon shoot him? **Haha, I wish. That was just a little part for FieldOfPaperFlowers who honestly wanted him to die. Sorry, couldn't do it. :P

And one more little note.... Kudos, snaps, brownie points (whatever you want to call it) to Ebony10 who figured out what Michael really wanted way back in chapter 3. Awesome guess. XD. He's smarmy.


End file.
